Watch a Japanese high school girl transform herself in bizarre makeup tutorial

by Danny Kichi on Tue, Jan 12, 2016

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Ganguro is a term that refers to an alternative Japanese fashion trend that started in the 1990s where young girls get dark tans, dye their hair, apply crazy makeup and even stickers on their faces, paint their fingernails, and wear over-the-top accessories and costumes. If that look sounds appealing to you, check out the makeup tutorial given by Ganguro Ayutama, a proud member of the Black Diamonds, a group made up of equally kooky-looking girls liker her.

First things first — do not judge this book by its cover. Despite her appearance, Ganguro Ayutama is a very scholarly young woman. At the age of 14, she passed the highest level of the very difficult Kanji Kentei, officially known as the Japan Kanji Aptitude Test. This national test is so hard that even most adults have trouble with it. It examines not only one's ability to read and write kanji characters, but tests knowledge of individual kanji and their meanings, how to use them in sentences, and even the correct order of brushstrokes when writing them. To pass the highest level as an adult would be quite a feat; to pass it at 14 years old is pretty much genius.

Speaking of genius, when Ayutama isn't burying her nose in kanji books, she's painting it, along with the rest of her face. I've always believed that having passion for anything is a wonderful thing, and Ayutama obviously has passion for the Ganguro look and lifestyle. She obviously is great at whatever she does, and I'm sure she has a very bright future ahead of her. If you ever make it to Tokyo and you're walking around the Shibuya or Harajuku areas, keep you eyes open for the Ganguro girls who will most definitely be out and about. If you're lucky, you may even see Ayutama herself!